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Rogue Trooper was
originally a character in the 2000 A.D. comic book series,
created by David Gibbons. He first appeared in 1981 and continued
highly successfully for eight years until  in the 1990’s when was
decided a character redesign was needed, Gibbon agreed to the
redesign, and Rogue Trooper continued as a well renowned
comic book character, to amass a full twenty two years in total. Now
Rebellion, the company that brought the 2000 A.D. franchise
with intent for the release of their first game, Judge Dredd:
Dredd Vs. Death, bring you their second 2000 A.D. game.
Rogue Trooper is a Third-Person Action game, set in
the world of Nu Earth, a desolate nuclear-torn wasteland, where a
war has been raging for eternities between the Norts, a race of
human-like warriors, and the Southers, a group of genetically
modified blue men. Both races have highly modified weapons and
armour, the Norts need specialist protective suits to save them from
the atmosphere, whereas the Genetic Infantrymen (G.I.) are modified
not only to be stronger and fitter, but also immune to all poisons;
and that includes a huge gas cloud that covers this planet. The G.I.
are fitted with microchips in the back of their neck where the
information and personality they possess is stored, this means
whenever a G.I. dies, another G.I. can add his chip to their weapons
or armour giving them the abilities of their fallen comrades and the
option of bringing them back when returned to the base.
The gameplay is set-up to take you from tactical fire-fight
to tactical fire-fight, dispatching of guards as you do so, by using
the many varied options you have available, you can try the full
assault using the variety of weapons available, a Sneaking Attack
using stealth kills and distraction devices to take the enemy by
surprise, or you can barricade yourself in using Sentry-Guns, Mines
and cover and pick-off your enemies using the Sniper Rifle,
blind-fire and infrequent Assault-Gun blasts. The A.I. is very well
performed and you will find yourself the target of many well-thought
attack strategies, which, if you’re not careful, will pin you in a
corner you can’t escape from, or force you into making rash
decisions that will endanger you life and eventually kill you.
At the beginning of the game you learn the ability to Salvage
from the people and machines you kill. Depending on how you kill
them, you get Salvage Points; these can be spent buying upgrades for
your weapons and armour or for buying ammo, grenades and Medi-Packs
for re-equipping yourself in the heat of the battle.
This  game is totally focused on the heat of the battle, there
aren’t many puzzles, or puzzles of the genre-instilled nature at
least, and wherever there’s enemies there’s ammo and health –
once they’re dead – so you never have to wander around everywhere trying to find some; however it
does encourage you to by way of reward, if you do happen to want to
wander to the outer-reaches of the Map, you will generally get
something for your effort: bonus Salvage more-often-than-not, but a
nice little touch all-the-same. The Sneaking option in the game is
not necessary, all the time, but when used can add another element
to the game: you have to be very patient at times, waiting for
guards to complete their circuits and planning your route before
Sneaking into the area, but the extra effort can save you from a
co-ordinated attack from an armed and ready source.
The graphics of this title aren’t less than outstanding;
each Character Model  has been perfected to the tiniest of detail,
perfectly mimicking their comic book counterparts in videogame
hysteria Real-Time 3D. The Lighting Effects from fire, the gun-fire
and elsewhere on the Map is amazing for the PlayStation2’s
per-functionary hardware. The terrain is as bland as bland can be,
but in the contained, acutely-designed areas you move around in,
it’s hardly noticeable.
Rogue Trooper may
not be groundbreaking, but is clearly a motivating addition to
Eidos’ portfolio. Recent manoeuvres from the company’s financial
stance are seemingly irrelevant to a line-up consisting of the
recent Lara
Croft; Tomb Raider: Legend and the forthcoming Hitman:
Blood Money being bolstered by such strong second-fire releases
as Rogue Trooper. Fans of the comic book will certainly not
be disappointed with Rebellion’s second 2000 A.D. offering
and neither will fans of the genre. Rogue Trooper is cut from
the cream of the well established Action genre, and tips a hat to a
generation nearing its final days.
 
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